There’s something to be said for being alone: for those moments of solitude that give us the space to breathe, regroup, process our thoughts… or maybe just to take a nap or read a good book.
This week, as the world focuses on romance, take a moment to celebrate the powerful relationship between me, myself, and I.
“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself”
On Eat Stories Like Grapes, Clara pens a sweet ode to the quiet times that help her prepare for the busy times.
The Fall offers a beautiful and necessary chance for solitude after all of the weddings, graduation parties, and festivals which make summer the amazing whirlwind that it is. It creates rhythm, a pause, before the jovial Christmas season. I need such pauses. I need re-grouping at times. I need solitude in order to give full energy to the more lively seasons.
“Why Introverts Like the Rain”
The blogger behind P & Q Discovery celebrates bad weather, which turns everyone into an introvert, like it or not.
They are obligated to raise shields made of hoods and umbrellas. Raincoats and boots. No exposed skin, no vulnerability. A cocoon of layers that creates a sense of isolation and detachment, where we feel anonymous and invisible among a sea of lowered heads moving too quickly through the mist to notice one another. We are unseen, yet still connected in that we are enveloped by one melting sky. We still share its consequences because, inevitably, the rain effects our day. It changes our plans, one way or another, however different. So, in this way, everyone in the rain shares a temporary bond. A commonality that is acknowledged silently and privately behind barriers: this is our ideal version of unity.
In response to our “Solitude” photo challenge last week, Imelda of My Wall shared a photo showing her moment of solitary repose.
“A Love Letter to Libraries”
Books are ideal places of solitary refuge, and Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, asks us to stop and appreciate the folks who help us find them: librarians.
Librarians are how libraries speak. Theirs are the small faces behind a million stories and facts. Theirs are the simple hands that introduce you to the people who will shape you, and the ghosts that will haunt you, and the ideas that will drive you, and the friends that will never leave you. They know the science of knowledge and beauty and laughter, and – though you can’t quite imagine it – they’ve cried over the same books that have broken and rebuilt your heart. They’ve ridden in the same sleigh with the snow queen. They’ve flown over London and sailed on pirate ships and visited Shangri-La and watched the world be destroyed and created and destroyed again.
Noortje Russel’s contribution to the “Solitude” photo challenge was this quiet, calm image of Alastair the Scottish Highlands cow, alone in a snowy landscape.
“Five Days Alone Hiking the Fishermen’s Trail”
After five days of solo hiking along Portugal’s Atlantic coast, pseudonymous blogger Verne of Jules Verne Times Two reflects on how important time with other people was — but how brief that time needed to be.
So, against all my expectations, those four or five daily fleeting moments of interaction with others became something to look forward to. We would rarely exchange more than a couple of words, but those were enough for me to imagine an intricate character. Mr. Alberts, a British retired clerk following the same sandy path he and his wife – just recently passed away – took many years ago. João, a young fisherman with fear still darkening his expression after barely making it back to the shore when large waves got hold of his tiny boat. Anja and Stefan, a German couple that left everything behind to live from a small patch of land, now struggling with the hardships of farming. Cristina and Manuel, two friends hiking through Portugal, feet resting on top of the heavy backpacks, weary from the month long voyage.
The blogger at ms. diplomacy responded to our “Solitude” challenge with this meditative image of a shelter in the middle of the Madu Ganga River in Sri Lanka.
“The Art of Silence”
Writing in ILY, Pardis Alia explores life post-breakup, and how she found her voice and herself through art.
And I returned to the canvas, to the pen, and the paper. A few months later, they had transformed for me. They weren’t tools for my grief. They weren’t tools to overcome my love. They were the love. I felt for them the same way you do a new lover; with excitement, with opportunity. Without realizing, I took the love that once was so powerfully vomit-inducing and made it into my muse. The art I created wasn’t attached to the man or the cruelty. It was powerful because it spoke. And what it always spoke was love, painted and reflected back at me.
At Ruby’s Polaroid, Tolulope Sanusi’s interpretation of “Solitude” was this image of a police officer in Lagos, Nigeria, who found a quiet spot for an afternoon break.
Read more in the Personal Musings topic, or join in this week’s photo challenge.
Reblogged this on Mikepouraryan’s Weblog and commented:
Working away as I saw this on this Valentine’s Day–quite a perspective for sure–Happy Valentine’s Day to all 🙂
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That’s really awesome that you showcase other bloggers. I’m glad I found this article.
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Michelle, thank you for including our post in this reflection! I came back from that five-day solo hike not only with a renewed fondness for solitude, but also with a keener sense of the type of human interaction I need the most. Oddly enough, I feel the same about blogging: free from the immediateness of verbal communication, I can take my time and write exactly what I want to say. – Verne
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5 solo days!!..You are my new hero!
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I am so lonely. I been in solitary confinement in county jail. I spent years drinking bymyself in my parents basement. I was alone in several psychiatric institutions. When you have God youre never Alone again. Sometimes Faith is not enough to fill your big bed. Also a house is not a home without friends or family to share it with.
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Hope you are doing better now? It seems you’ve been through alot. Just hang in there, it can only get better for you.
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Thanks Michelle for using my entry for the solitude challenge as the title image to this post. Marcus
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Naah ! I think zero is the true loneliest number! 👍
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I love the introverts perspective of how the rain unites us all.
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This is great, and it’s awesome featuring other bloggers.
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I. Loved. This. I helped explain just why I don’t mind rainy days. Why I crave days I can cover layer by layer and keep cozy. I like the sun going down earlier and coming back up later. More me, myself, and I time feeling like the worlds not really there … yet. Thanks.
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This is some breath-taking insight. Keep it up, guys.
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Something beyond incredible is happening here. Poignancy, serene, reflective, warm and so much more. Compiled snapshots of solitude that celebrate a sense of freedom while bringing it all together. Wow.
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Loved all the posts on solitude and the pictures depicting solitude are fabulous.
Just want to share a thought…what we understand by solitude is the absence of other human beings around us…
Consider yourself taking a long walk, alone on the winding roads leading up on the hill… an aerial view will show a solitary figure slowly walking up a steep winding path. But are you really alone? You have the breeze, touching your face, clearing your mind. You have the birds chirping and probably you have stopped several times looking for the bird which sang such a sweet song. You may even see a few monkeys fooling around….you just don’t have another human being with you….but you have many around you keeping you company constantly, watching you, being with you, yet allowing you the luxury of leaving your thoughts to yourself, making sure you enjoy every moment of solitude you so seek when you decided to walk up the hill…
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This is great! I have just learned the art of loving myself first. Now I can’t get enough of it. I feel way more content and even seem to have better interactions. Thanks for the read!
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I agree! Ive only discovered how blissful it is to be content with oneself.
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How did you learn this? Work in progress over here
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It was an emotion.. first disgust with the depths that i was living my life, mostly realized through many years of partying.. Then feeling done with it, just plain over it.. then a long time of feeling lost and alone.. then action.. hobbies, learning, and challenging myself just out of pure boredom.. nothing seemed right but i kept acting.. then my confidence was born.. bequeathed from the least suspecting places. Good luck!
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Beautiful — as an introvert I very much love this post!
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I loved reading the post especially the one about libraries.
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I, too enjoy my solitude. I enjoy being my own best friend.
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Oooh I love the Librarian piece, so true!
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As an introvert (INFJ), I relate so well to all of these, especially to that of art, hiking in the outdoors, and the autumn season. Thanks for sharing this!
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Solitude is a gift – and it doesn’t have to occur when one is alone; even being in a room full of people and being able to switch them off (and it really does feel to me as if they, not I, are being switched off) creates a sense of solitude. Thank you for the article, it really made my day
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Great writing coupled with beautiful photography. Awesome post!
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This was a great read! I enjoyed the many vantage points of solitude and what it brought each writer.
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I dunno really, pornography is probably something best sampled while alone, even then, didn’t they used to display it in theatres (ones without carpet on the floor I hope) and I still see the occasional chick reading 50 shades in public. So it seems that there’s almost nothing we don’t like to do in the presence of others and even when we’re considering the virtues of solitude, we go and tell every one about it by posting our thoughts on a blog.
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In July I started a year studying abroad, and I tried my best to throw myself into all the social activities that inevitably come with it, but it wasn’t until I was far more selective with who I chose to spend my time with, and rejected invites and spent more time alone that I became happy here. Now I go for long walks on my own and absolutely love it. I feel genuinely sorry for people who can’t bare to be in just their own company!
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Thank you very much Michelle for featuring my image!
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Great post, I love me some solitude
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They are great reads but the one about libraries has changed my thinking for ever.
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To enjoy being alone is truly a gift requiring self confidence. I love the way you write.
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I’ve always been a solitary person… and sometimes it can get really hard, because you realise how difficult it is to connect to other people… you find books are better companies that other human beings. Nothing fills you more than your time alone.
But then… when you pay attention to the fact that there’s not a lot of individuals who can actually master the art of being on their own and really appreciate, then is when you start to embrace it and feel proud about it…
Thanks a lot for sharing these sites!
have a good day!
Ma. Lulu
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I love this. Great read.
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Solitude is a wonderful aspect of life. Learning to embrace being in that place is a healing aspect of life.
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Rain makes everyone an introvert- I like that 🙂 thanks for sharing!!
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I love time with people, but I need a lot of time alone too. Nothing better than curling up with a book!
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I find that alone time for me helps to recharge my batteries and be more Mindful.
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I love the topic, the writing, and the pictures! All meld together and compliment each other beautifully. The first three and the fifth one seem very “poetic” stylistically, which is a breath of fresh air for me to read on an all too relatable subject.
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Alone time is the best time, there’s nothing like it
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